Tale of a Tail
by Alienist
Summary: Follow Inuzuka Teiru and his team as they walk down the path of a shinobi... Laughter, sorrow, love and loss.


Chapter 1

Teiru's snores filled his bedroom as he slept. It wasn't large, but a big enough space – a small bed up against the wall, under the little window which let sunlight into his room. Dirty clothes, magazines, and various other items littered the ground in piles. To the right of his bed was a small dresser, which was generally unused.

"Mmm... steak..."

Twisting his body around, he ended up with his face into his pillow and his rear sticking up in the air.

"Mmm... aren't you a sexy-"

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Teiru groaned as he opened an eye, his slit-like pupils scanning the area for the offending noise, and reached over to slam his hand down on his alarm clock. He muttered profanities as he slowly began the process of waking up. Standing up, he ambled over to the bathroom and began his morning routine.

As he was taking a shower, he suddenly realized what day it was. Wide-awake now, he began washing himself a bit quicker.

Done with his shower, he began drying himself off, shaking his head like a dog. He slipped on a pair of boxers. Reaching down to the floor, he picked up a white T-shirt and sniffed it, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

Shrugging, he pulled it over his head.

Coming out of his room fully dressed in a pair of black khaki pants, he scratched at the tattoos on his face. It was a reassuring feeling, being part of something like a clan, who would always be there to support you. At the same time, though, you had to carry the responsibility of not embarrassing your fellow clan members by acting stupid.

Inuzuka Teiru hadn't quite caught onto the latter.

A yip caught his attention as he made to grab a piece of toast off the kitchen counter. Looking down, he saw his constant companion, Anryoku. Teiru smiled as he reached down to pick up the dog. He was white in color, with pointed ears and long muzzle. His paws and ears, though, were colored in a rustish hue.

"Ready for today, Anryoku?" Teiru asked as he put him in the hood of his grey sweatshirt. He didn't like having his hood up all the time - it messed up his hair. Plus it gave a nice place for the small dog to nestle where he wouldn't be too much in the way. Anryoku gave another 'ruff!' as it settled down in a comfortable position.

Teiru didn't bother yelling any goodbyes as he ran out the door. He knew that no one was home - his brother was training, and his sister was currently on a mission. Plus, he wanted to get to school early today. No, not because he was excited about school.

"I can't wait to get this damn exam over with." he mumbled to himself as he walked through the academy doors.

-----

'Ack, why did the exam have to come up this quickly! I didn't study at all! I should've studied, dammit. Why didn't I study? Oh man, I don't think I can do this...'

Teiru groaned as he inwardly slammed his head against the wall. The sensei, an energetic blonde woman, began calling names. Their test was to create a simple bunshin, and then use henge to change the appearance of the bunshin.

'Ehh... last time I took this, all we had to do was henge! Why me...'

"Inuzuka Teiru!"

'Okay, it's gonna be okay... have confidence... you're an Inuzuka! You can do this!'

Composing himself, he gave a nonchalant shrug as he walked out the door, the other students watching him.

"Piece of cake!" he said with a wolfish grin.

"Ruff!" Anryoku barked in encouragement.

Standing in the front of the judges, he could feel their gaze bore into him as he made a hand seal, and began molding his chakra...

"Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Poof!

Next to him stood an exact copy of himself, fangs and all. The only thing he noticed was that he had no eyebrows. It didn't matter to him, though - he had completed the first part!

'Okay, now henge... don't screw this up, Teiru! There's no way I'm gonna go through all this shit a 3rd time!'

"Henge no Jutsu!"

Poof!

Now standing next to Teiru was a copy of his sensei - blonde ponytail, blue eyes, and a nice...

"...ass!"

Teiru blinked.

"Come again?"

"I said... you pass!"

Teiru stood still for a second, the words processing in his brain. What seemed like an age went by, and finally he let out a loud laugh and whooped for joy.

"I passed! I'm a ninja! Thank you Ino-sensei! Thank you!"

"Yes, Teiru, NOW GET OUT" said the exasperated teacher, rubbing her temples.

Walking out of the classroom, he grabbed one of the hitai-ate's off the table as he passed by.

'She may be hot, but she sure does have a temper problem...'

Anryoku let out a joyful string of yips and barks, and Teiru laughed again.

"Yeah, lets go celebrate!"

-----

Teiru slurped his meal noisily as he sat at Ichiraku's. He had spent the whole day goofing off with his friends, and was now dining on Konoha's finest ramen. Sitting to his right was his big brother, Kiba, and then next to him was Hinata. The 18 year old had asked if Hinata would like to come with them, and being the kind soul that she was, she had decided to humor the Inuzuka. At least, that's what it seemed like to Teiru. He had missed the massive amount of blushing going on between both parties as they had talked.

"S-So... Teiru-chan, do you have your team yet?" Hinata asked Teiru, trying to include him in the conversation.

"Nah, we're having some meeting tomorrow, I think that's when they assign us our teams."

Hinata nodded. Unlike Kiba and Teiru, she had not ordered any ramen - apparently she had eaten earlier. The two boys didn't really mind - they both enjoyed her calming presence and comforting scent, although the latter was currently being overpowered by the aroma coming off their hot meals.

Kiba ruffled Teiru's hair, earning him a glare and small pout.

"Growin' up to be just like his big bro, eh, Hinata?" he said with a wolfish grin.

"Eh, I'm not that ugly, am I?" Teiru said as he wrinkled his nose.

Hinata giggled as Kiba hit him over the head, causing his meal to topple onto the floor. Kiba chuckled as he watched Teiru groan in despair at his lost meal.

Suddenly, Teiru grinned.

"Heh, I'm not paying anyways. I'll have another!"

A few bowls later, both Inuzuka had their stomachs full and were ready to head home.

"Hmm, where's Anryoku?"

Teiru suddenly began to panic. Where was his best friend? They had never been separated before... at least without telling each other where they were going.

"Eh, I think he and Akamaru went off somewhere."

"Oh..." said Teiru, looking down at the ground sadly.

"I-I'm sure that they'll be back soon."

"Aye, we'll probably meet em on our way home. Lets go."

They trudged through the village, Kiba and Hinata hanging back a few feet from Teiru having a conversation. He didn't really mind - he liked to be left with his thoughts. The 13 year old just wished that his best friend was there for him to share them with.

"Hey, Teiru, I'm gonna walk Hinata home, k? You'll be alright?"

"Yeah yeah, I know the way."

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Teiru watched the two walk away, hand in hand. Suddenly Kiba reached over and pecked the girl on the cheek, causing a good amount of blushing and the young genin to wrinkle his nose in disgust.

"Ugh... onii-san's getting all cuddly and crap again..."

He sighed. 'Might as well go home. Big day tomorrow.'

Teiru grinned at the thought of tomorrow. He would get a team! He really hoped that they would place him with his friends - having to fight and train with people he didn't know would suck.

As he neared his house he spotted his brother's giant dog Akamaru. He and Anryoku were sitting outside their house, having a conversation of barks, yips, growls and whines. They abruptly stopped as he neared them, turning to stare in his direction.

Blinking, he looked at them both questioningly.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Ruff rrrruff ruff," Anryoku said, clearly meaning 'Nope, just finished.'

Teiru shrugged. It wasn't any of his business if they didn't want to tell him - it was probably just a talk about what to expect as a ninja. His brother had given him a similar lecture earlier.

"Well, lets go get some sleep. Gotta wake up early tomorrow for the meeting."

Anryoku whined in dismay, not yet ready to go to bed, but complied. They walked inside together, Teiru noticing Hana wasn't yet home.

Letting out a large yawn, he plopped down onto his bed and wrapped his arms around Anryoku.

"'Night, Anryoo..._snore_"

-----

A/N: Mmm... I started writing this on a whim one day... we'll see if it pans out. This was mostly just introducing the character... chapter 2 should be up soon, getting on a team and all that good stuff. Review, criticize, flame, whatnot... constructive criticism is preferred.


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